caidjohnson Reviews

The Artifice Girl (2022)

I Didn't Know What to Expect and was Pleasantly Surprised

[9/10 · 1 May 2023]

Going into the movie, almost entirely blind, I feel quite fortunate to see this team's presentation of a thought-provoking set of ideas.

I say team, because the writer(s), director, and everyone involved in making it happen are to thank for a movie that, having finished it, the feelings I had while watching it still linger with me. I think it's been a while since I watched a movie that had me feeling like I was returning from another reality, when it was finished.

The actors involved did an excellent job of presenting their characters, lines delivered very believably, roles presented in a way that I never once doubted who I was listening to or what I was seeing.

Would I recommend others to watch this film? Absolutely! If you're interested in movies that are far more about the characters and concepts than they are about the visual "fireworks", like say a Marvel movie, this one is certainly worth the watch.

I would liken this movie to one called "The Man from Earth". I can't share the link for IMDB's page on that film, but the title will bring it up, all the same.

If you've seen that movie, you'll know the style of "The Artiface Girl" immediately, a story, a brief hour and a half look into the lives and "what if?" reality of the characters involved.

If you haven't seen "The Man From Earth", and you watched and liked "The Artiface Girl", watch that one next.

Thank you to the actors, director, writers, and everyone on the team who made this happen. What a great film!

Mayfair Witches (2023– )

Take It as Its Own Show, Inspired By the Books

[8/10 · 7 February 2023]

It appears the low ratings are coming from people who disagree with how the who deviates from the books. That's unfortunate as it's a pretty decent show.

There are a few inconsistencies in the quality of acting, VERY rare inconsistencies, however, as most of the actors do a fantastic job in the show, especially the lead actress and the male counterpart who's trying to protect her from the main antagonist.

All in all, it's an enjoyable show and deserving of a higher score than it's getting from a lot of the "it isn't exactly like the books" reviews on here.

I definitely recommend this show to anyone who would like a good modern fantasy style show to dive into.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

Too many high reviews based on nostalgia alone.

[6/10 · 27 May 2022]

While it isn't a bad series, two episodes in, it's also not a very well acted or well scripted show. Some of the character lines and the way they deliver them are just low quality feeling.

There's just something not quite Mandalorian quality about the series, so far.

Surprisingly, young Laia is stellar, putting forth a performance that is both childlike, but also wise and intelligent beyond her years. Obiwan is good, but a lot of the characters surrounding him are just cheesy line delivering props more than deep, enigmatic characters.

Basically, it doesn't feel like they have a life beyond the moments we see them on screen, they're simply there for the show and that's it.

It's not a bad series, but I also don't feel it deserves a 9.1. There's just something off about all of it, lower quality than one would expect out of a show with such a high rating.

Anyhow, watch it for some more Star Wars stuff, but don't expect too much out of it, character-wise.

It's not bad, but it's not great either.

No Man of God (2021)

I gave it a 10, I'll explain why...

[10/10 · 31 August 2021]

I'm not a film critic, I'm just a guy who watches movies and tries to enjoy them.

I felt different after watching this movie. It fully pulled me in and affected me on such a deep level that by the time it was over, I had to remind myself that I lived in my world, not the world the movie presented me with.

And yet, this really happened...

I feel the editing and acting were extremely effective, Elijah Wood never fails to deliver such profound performances. When the first movie started and we got a good long look at his eyes, I saw Frodo.

By the end of the movie, I realize that Elijah has perfectly become Bill Haegmeir (sorry for the spelling if it's incorrect), so much so that any "Hey, look! It's Frodo!" had disappeared so entirely I couldn't even place where it'd happened.

For anyone who thinks this kind of movie glorifies serial killers, I would say I can't see how. Nothing in this movie makes Ted Bundy seem like a good guy, he seems like a killer, through and through.

I don't know the name of the actor who played Bundy, but he did a great job portraying someone deeply troubled, sick, manipulative, complex, and deadly.

Anyway, I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good drama, it's well acted, edited, directed, and left me feeling out of place in my own world for a bit, after.

This, in my books, is a pretty good sign that the movie effectively transported me to a life other than my own.

Mulan (2020)

Don't believe the low rating.

[8/10 · 9 September 2020]

Despite its low rating on IMDB, the movie was actually fantastic. The characters were likeable, the scenery was drop dead gorgeous, the fight scenes were exciting and well choreographed, the whole movie was just enjoyable.

I'm really quite surprised by the rating on here, I feel like low score reviewers were watching an entirely different movie.

I highly recommend watching this one, I watched it with my youngest daughter and she too enjoyed it from start to finish. Don't believe the low rating, this movie is super enjoyable.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

An exciting ride of a movie, and unique take on an old legend.

[8/10 · 21 September 2019]

Anyone giving a 1 star review to a movie with this much effort it just bitter and jaded.

What this movie isn't is another remake of the same sold storytelling used to portray this tale. Let's face it, this is one of the oldest fables known to western culture, and few directors have taken as much of a risk on telling it in a non traditional fashion as Guy Richi has.

The editing can take a bit of getting used to, and it certainly feels like there's a lot of modern culture mixed into the storytelling. The music sounds like a mixture of traditional and modern influence, the characters are complex and ruthless in a way that makes them sinister even in our times. This is something I feel a lot of movies based on ancient times fail to do, portraying people from the past as having simpler minds than those of today. Definitely not the case here.

I would say the biggest reason for all the hate for this movie is about the editing, with a mixture of characters planning their next action while we see it happening at the same time.

It's a tactic unused enough to throw some people off, but I had no problem keeping up with it.

One thing the movie does very well is slow down and speed up in a very unique way, effectively conveying gravity and severity. The music also does a great job of making key scenes feel more significant.

All in all, it's an exciting and enjoyable film. Definitely worth the watch.

Avengement (I) (2019)

Extremely well done action revenge movie.

[9/10 · 21 September 2019]

Seeing as this is a Netflix movie, I didn't really know what to expect. I think I expected something similar to a lot of Scott Adkins movies, lower budged, but quiet well acted.

That part was spot on. The characters are believable, the plot is well done, and each scene felt enjoyable to watch. (I'm not a fan of flashbacks generally, but they were brief and used to great effect in this movie.)

The thing that really got me about Avengement was how well choreographed the action scenes were. I recently paid for John Wick 3 on YouTube, and while I thought it was an ok movie, I also felt like the action scenes were oddly paced. A lot of those scenes felt like demonstrations of actual tactical fighting techniques. You can see they're legit moves and whatnot, but they lacked the deliberation to make them seem real. Almost like the choreographer was kind of smiling and winking at us the viewers who were also supposed to be in on the joke, the joke being "It's realistic, but also not."

The same can't be said for Avengement. The hits kept coming, and each and every one of them bloodily spewed their visceral realism all over the environments and right into the delighted but perhaps slightly shocked minds of us the audience.

Lines were delivered spectacularly well, Scott Adkins is an actor that pretty much everyone who's scene his films will scratch their heads in wonderment that he hasn't hit the same stardom as Jason Statham, at the very least.

He's agile, fast, remarkably coordinated, and deeply skilled at fighting on camera. That alone might merit more of a chance at Hollywood greatness, but then he's also an extremely capable actor. When I first saw one of his films (forgive me for forgetting the name of the film currently) he played a Russian inmate in a fight club. He was the bad guy, I hated him, the movie turned me against this vile excuse for a human monster, and I totally hated him. I also truly believed he was a Russian actor.

The next film in that series made him the main character, and had us the viewers learn to love him as the indominable underdog. He nailed it, delighting us with his remarkable ability to seem superhumanly fast and strong on screen.

It was only later that I learned he was actually a British actor, and my mind was blown.

Back to the topic of this movie, Adkins has done a fantastic job of bringing his all to the film. His words, in his quest for revenge, drip with malice and contempt for his targets. His action scenes do an excellent job of capturing the absolute destruction of any who get in his way, with each jaw shattering punch, kick, or face smashing into the nearest hard surface.

Brutal, well acted, and completely enjoyable.

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

A heck of a lot better than Homecoming.

[8/10 · 15 September 2019]

I'll be honest right off the bat, I didn't really like Homecoming. In fact, I didn't like it because I felt like Tom Holland was too whiny, or maybe he didn't seem that amazing to me, or something... I'm not sure exactly what it was, I just didn't really care for the first one.

So, I was hesitant to see this one, fearing I'd still have the same feelings for this current generation of Spiderman. Thankfully, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I took my two daughters and my wife, my wife stayed awake for the whole film (this means the movie is good, as she'll fall asleep in almost every movie due to boredom), and I... actually... liked it.

The acting was quite decent, Spiderman seemed a lot more confident than the first one, "coming into his own" sort of thing, the villain was surprising. Yeah, it was all quite good!

I'm really interested to see how Sony is going to do the next one, what with Sony and Marvel having their falling out, but here's hoping it ends well.

If a third doesn't get done in this generation, I feel like it'll become a cursed franchise, doomed to two before inevitably falling on its face.

Who knows... :P

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

Well acted, strong action sequences, ridiculously unbelievable.

[4/10 · 15 September 2019]

I actually walked out of the movie about halfway through. I just couldn't feel engaged by the movie, mostly on account of how ridiculous all of the characters were.

I'm normally able to suspend disbelief and enjoy a movie by watching it while trying to see it from the director's point of view.

With this one, I just couldn't. No one in the movie did anything a real person would do. Like, lots of movies have a part here or there where you think "that was dumb, they should've jumped/shot/got away, why did they do that?" and we're so used to it that we won't let sparing use of it ruin a movie for us.

The issue I have with this movie is, the entire movie is just scene after scene of bad guys making super dumb decisions, presumably because it looks cool? "Hey, a bunch of soldiers just shot first, asked questions later on 20 guys, I guess I'll just stand here and talk to them for 30 seconds, tell them I'm a bad guy, and THAN kill them all."

Hobbs and Shaw aren't any better, really. They are always facing situations in a way NO ONE would ever face such a situation. They show off during intense action scenes, trying to one up each other, but they would've been killed 50 times in 1 minute if the movie had any sense of realism.

The plot and script played out like it was written by a fifteen year old boy after he's just binge watched Fast and the Furious movies for ten days straight.

All that said, I've disliked a few movies after first watching them, then liked them more the second time I've watched them.

We'll see if I can't enjoy it more once it hits YouTube movies or Netflix or whatever. Currently however, it was just too dumb.